Hat-trick for ICI

Neil Everall of the Measurement Science Group of ICI plc, Wilton, UK, is to be the recipient of the 2003 Williams–Wright Award. This award, made by the Coblentz Society, is made annually for “significant contributions to vibrational spectroscopy by an industrial scientist while working in industry”. The award will be made to Neil at the Williams–Wright Award symposium at Pittcon 2003.

Neil is the third ICI vibrational spectroscopist to receive this award, both John Chalmers and the late Harry Willis being recipients in 1994 and 1983, respectively.

Neil’s current laboratory evolved essentially from that in which John was active and which Harry founded. This represents a magnificent achievement over many years for an industrial laboratory.

European plasma award

The European Award for Plasma Spectrochemistry aims to promote analytical plasma spectrochemical developments and applications in Europe. The prize will be awarded for either a single outstanding piece of work or for continued important contributions to this field. The candidate must either be a European national or must have carried out the work in a European laboratory. There is no age restriction on eligibility.

The prize will be awarded every second year and presented at the European Winter Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry, where the winner will be invited to present a lecture, following the award ceremony. The prize, donated by Agilent Technologies, consists of Euro5000 cash and an all-expenses paid trip to Japan to attend a scientific event or seminar, where the winner will also be invited to present a lecture. Travel expenses to the European Winter Conference to receive the award are also included.

Applications or nominations for the 2003 European Award for Plasma Spectrochemistry, to be presented at the 2003 European Winter Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, in January 2003, must be sent to the award panel chairman: Prof. Dr Klaus Heumann, Institute of Inorganic Chemistry and Analytical Chemistry, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Duesbergweg 10-14, D-55099 Mainz, Germany. Closing date for the acceptance of applications is 30 June 2002. Further information on this award can be obtained from the 2003 European Winter Plasma Conference website (www.gdch.de/tagung/5545/index.htm) or from Agilent Technologies’ ICP-MS web site (www.agilent.com/chem/icpms).

Organic compounds in space

Spectral bands in the infrared of interstellar gas clouds, known as the “Unidentified Infrared Bands” have been thought to be due to various polyaromatic hydrocarbons, each containing about 50 carbon atoms. However, nobody has been able to measure their spectra under conditions comparable to those in deep space, where the molecules are so dispersed that they do not collide.

Hans Piest of the Department of Molecular and Laser Physics of the University of Nijmegen has found a way of measuring the spectra indirectly. Polyaromatic hydrocarbons were synthesised and bound to a noble gas atom at a temperature just above absolute zero. The bonding energy of noble gas atoms is so small that it scarcely affects the spectrum. Using a free electron laser, he bombarded the complex using a different wavelength for each bombardment. When different noble gas atoms were used, the same spectrum was produced, indicating that the noble gas did not disrupt the spectrum.

The spectra measured agreed with previously disputed measurements from NASA. They had directly determined the very weak absorption spectrum of various sorts of polyaromatic hydrocarbons frozen in noble gas ice.

Chemometrics Virtual Institute

The EU-funded Virtual Institute in Chemometrics and Industrial Metrology (VICIM) has started work. It is hoped that the integration of metrology and chemometrics in one virtual institute will offer unique opportunities for new synergies between the disciplines. After the initial three-year funding, VICIM will become a self-supporting and independent Research Foundation. www.vicim.urv.es/.

EAS awards

The winners of the 2002 EAS awards have been announced. The awards will be presented during EAS, which is being held between 18 and 21 November 2002 in its old home in Somerset, NJ, USA.

The Award for Achievements in Near Infrared Spectroscopy is made to Jerry Workman (Kimberly–Clark Corporation).

The Award for Achievements in Magnetic Resonance goes to Axsel Bothner-By (Carnegie Mellon University, Retired).

The Galactic Industries Award for Achievements in Chemometrics, Presented by EAS, has been won by Paul Geladi (University of Umea, Sweden).

The Award for Outstanding Achievements in the Fields of Analytical Chemistry is made to Charles Wilkins (University of Arkansas, Fayetteville). www.eas.org.

Well travelled magnet

The largest commercial magnet in the world, developed by Oxford Instruments Superconductivity, has been lifted into position at its destination: the William R, Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richmond, WA, USA.

The 900 MHz magnet being lifted into the lab.

The 900 MHz superconducting magnet weighs 16 tons and stands almost three stories high. Its journey from the UK involved crossing both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and navigating the Panama Canal. The magnet was lifted by a crane into the laboratory, through a hatch in the roof and into a purpose-built 100 ton steel cage below floor level.

Young Chemistry Writer

The 2002 International Young Chemistry Writer of the Year is a competition organised by ChemWeb.com and sponsored by BioSpace. Writers, aged 16–30, should submit topical, feature-style articles on a chemistry-related subject, 1000–2000 words in length. The closing date for entries is 30 November 2002.

The winner will travel free to the American Chemical Society Spring National Meeting, 23–27 March 2003, in New Orleans, where they will be presented with their prize of $2500. Two runners up will also receive a cheque for $1000. All three winners will have their articles published in the alchemist, the ChemWeb.com magazine. www.chemweb.com/youngwriter.

Materials physics lab

A new £2M Materials Physics Laboratory has been opened at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, UK, by Rhodri Morgan, First Minister of the National Assembly of Wales.

Rt Hon Rhodri Morgan, First Secretary Wales Assembly, right of picture, officially opens the Materials Physics Lab. Pictured with (L to R) Derec Llwyd Morgan-Vice Chancellor, University Wales, Aberystwyth, Professor Neville Greeves, Head of Physics at Aberystwyth and Dr Ian Owen, Director of Scantwel Ltd, Bala.

The lab has three spectrometers, a class 1000 clean room and a ceramics lab. Funding has come from equipment grants from the EPSRC, the EU, industry and Education and Learning Wales (ELWa). A number of research programmes are currently underway in the lab.

The physics of high temperature melting is being studied with NMR coupled to a levitator furnace based on a high-power CO₂ laser developed with collaborators in Orléans. Applications include glass melting, the growth of nanocrystals and the collapse of porous materials.

The colour and texture of the surfaces of layered materials of all descriptions are probed with polarised light. Examples include quantum dots buried in semiconductors and ultra thin films.

The growth of organic semiconductor thin films is followed with a real-time ultrafast electron spectrometer incorporating a 1000-channel parallel detector. Aberystwyth is a partner in a Euro1.4M European research network to develop organic semiconductor devices, which are expected to lead to more efficient mobile telecommunications and the flexible displays and television screens of the future.

JRC research fellowships

In order to increase and reinforce the European Commission’s scientific capacity in all of its areas of involvement in the Research and Technology Development Framework Programmes, and to encourage young scientists to enhance their experience in an international, multicultural and multidisciplinary environment, the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission is launching a call for interest for PhD and Post-Doctoral fellowships.

The minimum duration of the grants is six months and the maximum is three years for PhD and two years for Post-Doctoral fellowships.

The call is open to young scientists, not older than 35, from EU member countries or those countries associated to the European Community Framework Programme on Research and Technological Development and to the Euratom Framework Programme for Research and Training Activities, or residing in the Community for at least five years. www.jrc.cec.eu.int.